Epic to charge non-game developers $1,850 ‘on-site’ to use Unreal Engine

Epic Games has announced a new pricing structure for non-game developers to use its Unreal Engine, after teasing the change last year. The Fortnite the developer will charge an annual “on-site” subscription of $1,850. The term “in place” is technical nomenclature which effectively means “a person using the software”. These changes will take effect with the release of Unreal Engine 5.4 at the end of April.

Although the Unreal Engine is primarily known as a game development tool, it is regularly used in a diverse set of industries where this pricing structure comes into play. Companies that make linear content, such as TV shows and movies, will have to buy that $1,850 fee, as will organizations that develop in-car infotainment platforms and immersive experiences, like theme park rides. Currently, Epic doesn’t make money from most of these users because the end products don’t, as Sweeney does put it on last year, “bearing royalty”.

The annual fee gives those users access to the Unreal Engine itself, the Twinmotion real-time visualization tool, and the company’s RealityCapture 3D modeling software. However, organizations can purchase individual licenses for each. Twinmotion will cost $445 per year and RealityCapture will cost $1,250 each year.

There are some exceptions here. Companies making less than $1 million in annual gross revenue will not have to pay the fee. The same applies to students, teachers and hobbyists. Companies that develop plugins for the Unreal Engine can continue to use the software for free, but Epic will take a cut through its revenue share model.

Epic’s real bread and butter, game developers, will continue to have access to Unreal Engine for free, paying just a five percent royalty for software that earns more than $1 million in lifetime gross revenue. Epic has extended the grace period from $50,000 to $1 million in 2020.